Brewers’ News for Spring and Beyond

With spring just around the corner, brewers are stepping up their games with promotions and product launches—and that’s good news for retailers looking for ways to boost beer sales. Product giveaways, special offers, sweepstakes, partnerships and sampling events—all designed to generate media coverage and engage beer-drinking consumers—are among outreach efforts that will bring attention to the beer aisle.

Fly Away to Ireland on Murphy’s Stout

Murphy’s Stout is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with an Ireland Flyaway Sweepstakes—all part of “Celebrate with the Perfect Pour,” the brewer’s 2018 St. Patrick’s Day retail and on-premise promotion.

To kick off “Celebrate with the Perfect Pour,” Murphy’s will host sampling events (where legal) and boost retail and on-premise visibility with posters, tuck cards, table tents, glassware and tap handles, plus pint cup, pouring spoon and balloon giveaways.

To enter the sweepstakes, customers just have to text Smoothpint, where legal, to 88500. The grand-prize winner will enjoy a trip for two to Ireland, the home of Murphy’s Stout.

Bud Light Deepens ‘Heart of Texas’ Roots

Bud Light is celebrating 30-plus years of brewing in Texas with its “Brewed Deep in the Heart”—a multifaceted marketing campaign that launched regionally last year and is set to go statewide in 2018. A new music partnership with Texas-native musicians Siggno and Josh Abbott Band will help fuel fan engagement.

The Josh Abbott Band re-recorded the iconic Texan song, “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” which it will perform on its statewide tour, sponsored by Bud Light. The song will be featured in one of Bud Light's new Texas-focused commercials. Bud Light is also sponsoring Sign’s 100-city Monster Tour, which kicked off in February. The company's largest brewery sits in Houston and has for over 35 years, with over 600 Texans brewing the beer every day.

For more info, visit Bud Light's website or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hats Off to Two Hats—MillerCoors’ New ‘Good Cheap Beer’

MillerCoors is changing the light-beer game with the February introduction of Two Hats, a line of light beers available with two lightly flavored options, lime and pineapple. With an alcohol by volume of 4.2% and priced at about $5 for a four- or six-pack, Two Hats is designed to appeal to 21- to 24-year-olds not currently big on beer.

To reach that target demographic, the company is collaborating with alumni from the Chicago-based incubator program, The Remix Project, to create videos, memes and gifs that will appear on digital and social media platforms including College Humor, Facebook and Instagram. Local sampling and custom events are also on tap nationwide.

To keep up with the latest about Two Hats, follow on Facebook and Instagram.